Understanding
by Luana Starlight
Summary: This is the sequel to "The Baby." Crossover LOTRLabyrinth. If you have not read "The Baby", go and read it.


Author's Note: This is the sequel to "The Baby." I only own Aluna.   
  
She stood in the shadows, watching a young boy playing. He had a small group of toy soldiers and was trying to get them to attack on their own. She smiled when the boy once again shouted, "Move!" He sighed and sat back down. She wanted to go to him and help him but she couldn't risk it. Very few people knew she lived.  
  
"Where is she?" he fumed at his subjects.  
They cowered, like they always did. He walked and paced, waiting for his daughter to appear. She had been gone most of the day and he did not know where she had gone. Suddenly, there was a noise on the stairs and in walked his daughter.  
"Aluna! Where have you been?" Jareth shouted.  
"Watching baby Estel. He has grown since we last saw him."  
Jareth watched her as she walked around the room and almost walked through the other door. She stopped and turned.  
"And, if you were wondering, I was not seen," Aluna said before turning back around and leaving.  
All Jareth could do was stand there in silence.  
  
Later that evening, father and daughter sat in the throne room. None of the goblins were in the room and the cool air of the Labyrinth blew in through the window. Jareth occupied his throne while Aluna sat on the windowsill. Both of them were quiet and both were playing with a crystal ball.  
"Father," Aluna broke the silence.  
"Yes, Aluna."  
"Why am I not allowed to show myself to Estel?"  
Jareth looked over at his daughter and sighed. He stood and walked over to her.  
"Why do you want to show yourself to him?"  
"Because it seems foolish that we have to hide in shadow and secrecy when there are some people who know what we are."  
"This is not easy to explain. Yes, there are people aboveground who know what we are. But they also understand that we are not like the stories that are told about us. We are different than many people. You can see it easily and for that, it would be easy to guess what we are."  
"Still..."  
"Still, there are others who do not believe the stories but are frightened of us. Lord Elrond is one of the few who knows what we are and is not afraid of us. Your mother was another. Most humans are afraid of us. I have as yet to meet a person who was not scared of me. Maybe one day, when Lord Elrond explains to Estel about us, then you will be able to show yourself to him. But until then, the shadows is the safest place."  
"I know, father. But, it is so hard. I love him as I would a baby brother and I want him to know that I am here if he needs me," Aluna sighed.  
All Jareth could do was sit there and watch as silver tears flowed down his daughter's face. Tears that had once flowed with the death of her mother. But these tears were not out of sorrow; they were out of frustration. Her heart was torn in two. It was obvious. Sooner or later, he might lose her to her mother's world. She was of both the Aboveground and the Underground. And now some of her heart was in the world above the Underground.  
Aluna stood, wiped the tears away, and started walking out of the throne room. She never once looked back at her father and all he did was sit there and look at the crystal she had left on the windowsill. Soon, all of her heart might be for the world above them.  
  
That night, a breeze gently blew through the child Estel's room. It did not awaken him or the other two elves that slept right next to him. Estel had worn his two brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, out and now they all slept peacefully in the middle of the playroom floor. Stepping out of the shadows was a dark figure that stopped long enough to watch the child sleep. Then he disappeared into the shadows again.  
The breeze continued to blow gently but none of the elves regarded it as anything more than just a breeze. Each time the breeze stopped blowing, the figure would step out of the shadows only to disappear into them again. The breeze worked its way out into one of the gardens and there it stopped.  
  
"I did not expect you tonight, Jareth," Lord Elrond said, looking up from his book.   
The candlelight reflected out of Jareth's eyes and gave him a kind of feral look. "I just wanted to see how the child is. My daughter had been watching him for the past several days."  
"Why does she not show herself to me? I would gladly let her stay and play with Estel."  
"I have seen some of the pictures in one of those books your sons were reading to him. She could be mistaken for one of those monsters."   
"A little explaining would help. Estel is a bright child. He would understand."   
"I will talk with Aluna and see if that is alright with her."   
"You talk like you are losing her. Is there anything that is wrong?"   
Jareth turned away and Elrond immediately knew. Jareth was losing her. Elrond stood and walked over to his side. Jareth looked over as Elrond came to stand beside him.   
"You might not lose your daughter to this world. Sooner or later, she would grow tired of it and wish to be back with you. She is of both worlds and it might be time for her to experience her mother's world."   
"I know. But, she is my only child and I do not want to lose her."  
"Tell her she is welcome to live here with me. I will not turn her away."  
"Thank you, Lord Elrond."   
"It is time for a human to understand that the fae are not as bad as the stories make them out to be."


End file.
